


where stars shine the brightest

by Skyescraper



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mates, Team Bonding, Transformation, but not completely, hunk being the best friend ever, klance, klangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-01-31 21:19:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12690429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyescraper/pseuds/Skyescraper
Summary: "The world seemed to narrow down to one place, seconds of painful silence and dripping anticipation ticked trough space until all hell broke loose. Lance reached Keith in exact the same second as the beam hit them both. They screamed, their voices mixed with the crackling static and screeching metal of the lions before the other paladins were met with absolute silence."--A lost battle leaves the paladins with some things they never expected, let alone could prepare for.





	1. Prologue

The battle was supposed to be an easy win. The attacking Galra fleet was just about the size of the castle and they had it cornered and defeated easily. They already celebrated, the pressure and tension of the battle easing off their shoulders, their hearts decreasing their speedy pounding. But then everything began to go haywire. 

Another Galra ship arrived, already charging a huge cannon which was attached to the front. It was almost as huge as the ship itself, but clearly built from a different material than the usual Galra weapons, glinting copper in the darkness of space. Shiro saw it first. A cold shiver running down his back and seeing something move in his peripheral view he turned his lion around and discovered the nearly perfectly disguised ship.

“Watch out!” his shout alarmed the others which were already on the way to the castle of the lions and they were back in battle- mode in an instant. But it was still too late, the cannon was fully charged in exact the same second and immediately fired it’s hot pink beam on the paladins. They barely managed to dodge it, feeling the static and electricy of the beam brushing them. Shouts revibrated through the comms and they had almost no time to prepare for the next shot, the Galra’s weapon being much faster than they were used to. 

Another beam cut trough the cluster of lions they formed and they escaped another close encounter. 

“We have to stop the ship!” Pidge’s shout seemed to snap the others back to reality and an agreeing murmur answered. They broke off into different directions, each of them trying to move the ships attention on them so the others could do their work. The plan seemed to work, the Galra fixated on Keith, following his red lion and firing off smaller beams which he dodged every time. Red was built for it after all, she was agile and fast and moved in an almost liquid way. He jumped off of meteors, hid behind them and moved away as soon as the ship neared him while the others tried to hit it with heavy blows. It didn’t work, the ship had a seemingly unbreakable shield up, swallowing up the attacks of the paladins. 

“We need another tactic-” began Lance but he got cut off as he saw the second ship appearing directly in font of Red. His brain short circuited, he moved without thinking, ignoring the shouts from the rest of the team. Keith was frozen in place, the second ship having activated a beam which slowly moved him towards them. They realized their plan, but it was too late, it had worked perfectly and they were going to finish it. 

Keith had been the target all along. 

The first ship charged its cannon again, charging it even fuller than during the first time and aimed it on the red lion. 

And fired.  
The world seemed to narrow down to one place, seconds of painful silence and dripping anticipation ticked trough space until all hell broke loose. Lance reached Keith in exact the same second as the beam hit them both. They screamed, their voices mixed with the crackling static and screeching metal of the lions before the other paladins were met with absolute silence. 

Shiro started first, steering Black to the unresponsive lions floating next to each other. Both of the Galra ships disappeared as fast as they arrived and left the paladins alone in space, shaken up and shocked. 

The blue and red paladins still were silent. They still didn’t respond to the desperate shouts of the remaining three paladins; Allura’s and Corans voices also sounded trough the link. Fear held them all tight, crushing their hearts, blocking their throats. Still, they had to reach the lions, had to open them up and had to look for what was left of their comrades. 

“Ready the healing pods, Allura.” whispered Hunk, already thinking forward, stubbornly clinging onto hope. It was all they could do right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first klance fanfic!! I am really excited to share it but at the same time I'm really nervous because English isn't my first languange and I never wrote a fanfiction or a story in english. If you discover some grammar mistakes or spelling errors please tell me! I am always trying to improve and this would help me greatly! :D  
> The first real chapter should be up soon, it won't be a huge fanfic, just something I had to get out of my systems but I still hope you like it so far!


	2. Chapter 1

Keith woke up to a steady humming, he couldn’t place the sound which reminded him a bit of the distant sound of the castles engines. This sound was too loud, too present to be the comforting background noise all of the paladins had learned to love in the last year.

He swallowed, his throat was dry and felt rough as if he had screamed too much. His brain told him he did exactly that, even if the memories were blurry and pain- filled. He slowly opened his eyes, the harsh light instantly giving him a headache. Everything was too sharp and bright, and he groaned softly.

Something rustling next to him woke him up faster and he turned around, still blinded from the unyielding lights which he attuned to way too slowly.

Shiro sat next to him, a wary look in his eyes, scanning every movement Keith did. “You’re awake.” he observed, and his posture seemed to stiffen. Keith frowned, something was wrong. Very wrong.

He slowly got up, still squinting at the harsh lights but vertigo caused him to groan again. His center seemed off balance but he didn’t focus on that. Instead, he focused on how Shiro got up, almost preparing for an attack.

“What’s happening?” Keith groaned softly, alarmed, but stopped as soon as he heard his voice. It was rough, a hissing undertone underlying his words. _What the hell?_ He coughed, maybe it was rough from sleep but something told him there was more to it than just a “morning voice”.

“Shiro, what’s wrong?” he asked again but instead of receiving an answer Shiro averted his gaze, not meeting Keith’s eyes. A cold feeling spread trough Keith, something bitter but sharp at the same time. There was something seriously wrong. With him.

Swallowing again, he raised his hand, panic already claiming him as he saw the purple color which normally was a clear sign of an enemy.

Wicked claws curled from his former blunt nails, fine fur spread on the back of his hand over his arms and up to his shoulders. He was sure the rest of his body was also covered in a fine layer of fur as well in the soft violet shade only Galra bodies had.

His hand trembled as he began to understand Shiro’s weariness and his panic overwhelmed him. He was a _Galra_. His body was-

“Shiro-“ Keith croaked but instead of comforting him Shiro straightened and opened the door and mumble something along the lines of: “Allura asked for me. I need to go.” and disappeared, the door closing behind him with a soft hiss.

Keith blinked, his heart racing and pounding in his ears. How did this happen? More importantly: what did happen? His thoughts were faster than he wished them to be, bringing up all the bad scenarios and even worse ones.

“No.” he whispered, still not ready to use and hear his new voice, and stood up, resting a hand on the wall for support. He still had to find his center of balance, he knew the reason for it in the back of his mind but didn’t want to think about it too much. Still, there was no way around it, he had to find out what had happened, he had to find out if Lance was alright.

_Lance._

This idiot had to jump in front of him, hadn’t he? Maybe he also transformed into a Galra, like him. Maybe he was actually injured and in a healing pod right now, body cold and mind sleeping. Keith clenched his jaw, he _had_ to find him, no matter how the others reacted to him. But first of all, he had to take a look at himself even if he knew it was worse than he could imagine right now.

Slowly he worked his way towards the small bathroom attached to the room he was stationed in. It seemed like a neutral guest room, neither like his own or a room in the medical bay. Whatever the reason was they choose to place him in here, he didn’t want to know it.

The lights in the bathroom were even harsher and blinded him momentarily before he reached the dreaded mirror. As they attuned to the brightness he met the yellow eyes of a Galra, staring at him in the mirror.

It was him.

No stranger would know Keith was a human one day ago. He even wasn’t sure if he recognized himself. Sure, some features were still here, his sharp jaw and thick eyebrows but the rest of him seemed so different, so alien.

Keith whimpered softly, his eyes raking up and down his new appearance. He even had the fluffy ears which twitched on his head, jutted out and looking like cat’s, replacing his human ones.

This explained the humming sound. It was the castles engines, he just heard them better than before. The same thing had happened to his eyes. They now were a solid yellow color, perceived more details than before. Suddenly, Keith understood why the lights on the Galra’s ships were dimmed and muted, still squinting against the white brightness.

He took a step back, observed his new height. He was at least the same height as Shiro, if not even taller and this seemed like such a strange concept to him, like a feverish dream.

Keith shook his head, his ears twitching. He had to get used to this new form, maybe Allura and Pidge could help him finding a way to turn back to a human. It wasn’t natural, after all, a curse of the Galra. There had to be a way to reverse it all.

Determined, Keith moved towards the door, still getting used to the bigger steps he now took. His thoughts strayed to his paladin armor and how he would fit him now, but he remembered how it had attuned to the different body shapes as they tried them on for the first time. Surely it would just adjust a bit by itself.

He walked through the brightly light hallways of the castle, the whirring of the engines already a background noise again. He adjusted way too fast in his opinion.

There was no time to brood about this, he already strode into the lounge, interrupting the other paladins in their discussions.

Several things happened at once.

Keith didn’t miss Shiro tensing, almost dropping into a defensive fighting position. The same thing happened to Allura, but her eyes told him she was even more serious than Shiro. The cold, dreading feeling was back, forcing it’s way trough Keith’s stomach.

He almost didn’t want to meet the other paladins gazes, but he still searched for them.

Pidge seemed wary, but not fearful or hateful, unlike Allura and Shiro. Hunk smiled, a warm and soft look in his eyes. He didn’t even seem to be surprised.

“I’m glad you finally woke up, Keith.” he greeted him and Keith wanted to cry. One person who didn’t treat him like a monster.

Then he searched for Lance, but didn’t find him. His heart sped up again and his ears lay flat. Of course, Lance wasn’t alright, he took the full blow of the beam.

“Where’s Lance?” he couldn’t help it, he asked softly, not wanting to startle the others with his new voice. Even so, Allura flinched which made Keith drop his ears. He began to hate them, they showed his feelings too easy, he couldn’t hide them anymore.

“Why do you want to-“ she began but Hunk interrupt her. “Oh, he’s with Coran, they should be back soon.” Hunk beamed but immediately continued. “He’s fine as much as one would expect, he’s not injured and he woke up after a few hours.” Keith’s shoulders sagged and his ears flicked up again. He was fine. This was the most important part, he couldn’t imagine how he would have felt if Lance was seriously injured or worse.

Pidge made a squealing sound and Keith snapped back to the team. He raised an eyebrow, but Pidge’s eyes were fixated on his ears. Of course. Of all things they could have focused on, it had to be his weird cat like ears. At least they weren’t afraid of him anymore which made him feel a little bit better than a few seconds ago.

Still, Shiros rejection probably hurt the most. Plus, he didn’t talk to Lance yet, maybe he was as repulsed as the others, maybe he didn’t want to have to do anything with him anymore.

He didn’t have to ponder about it any longer, the door to the lounge opened with a hiss and in strode Coran with a blabbering Lance in tow. The way he waved around his arms and talked animatedly showed Keith that he was perfectly fine.

At first he was just Lance, the way he always was. But then he saw his ears. They were elongated just exactly like Allura’s and Coran’s. Then his gaze fell on the bright blue, triangular markings under his eyes.

Lance was _altean_.

Their eyes met and Keith immediately shied away. But instead of being disgusted, Lances already bright smile seemed to brighten even more, lighting up the room and causing Keith’s heart to flutter in a strange way.

“Thank god you’re awake! I started to miss your broodiness, and that’s just weird.” he joked and quickly walked towards him to throw his arms around Keith in a hearty hug. Before he even fully registered it, Lance had taken a step back and observed his ears, his grin turning amused.

“They’re cute, by the way.” he commented and poked on his left one, making it twitch. “Just like a cat!” he cooed.

“Don’t.” grumbled Keith and swatted his hand away but couldn’t bring himself to be angry or annoyed at Lance’s antics, he was too happy about the fact, that Lance didn’t even hesitate to treat him normally.

He almost felt like purring, and that was _so_ not okay. The cat jokes wouldn’t end if he really did start to purr.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The drama begins! Keith is a purple space cat and Lance is supportive. I hope you liked it and if you find spelling errors and grammar mistakes, please tell me! *goes off to write the next chapter*


	3. Chapter 2

After some more banter between Lance and Keith, the team seemed to slowly relax again, the first tension easing off. Keith knew he wasn’t over the hill yet, Allura and Shiro still seemed to have some issues with him and he honestly didn’t know how to change it for the better.

“Guys, did you find out why this has happened to us?” Lance asked into the room and Pidge nodded. They stood up, pulling out a tablet and setting up some displays and charts with many different stats and numbers. Too scientific, for Keiths tastes.

“So this are the stats we got when we put you both into pods at first.” they began to explain. “But the system declared you both were physically completely fine so the pods released you again.” Pidge poked around on the screen for a bit and finally pulled up a visual of Keiths’ body with many numbers surrounding it.

“Then we saw the pod didn’t recognize you as humans, but as hybrids of two species. Keith is half Galra and Lance is Altean to a quarter.” another visual appeared, this time it showed Lance. “This was always the case. The genes were just recessive and not activated, but the weapon cause you both to develop the features of your recessive genes, they practically became dominant.” Pidge concluded and watched both of the paladins reactions.

“Wow.” whispered Lance, his eyes were wide and his jaw slack. “Now I have to find out which grandparent gave me the good altean genes.” he grinned, but Keith still couldn’t wrap his head around this new information.

This meant his mother was a Galra.

The mother he never got to know, the woman which disappeared before he could even walk.

“Keith, are you alright?” asked Hunk but he shook his head. “Not really, it’s a lot to process.” he mumbled, still not using his normal voice, and Hunk nodded sympathetically. “You’ll get used to it.” Pidge commented and continued to explain. “We didn’t find a way to reverse this. I think if you got blasted with the beam again, the whole thing will be switched again but I am not sure, it could be fatal as well because it already put a huge strain on your bodies. We shouldn’t risk it.” they concluded.

Keiths’ shoulders sagged. This didn’t sound too promising, and he did not look forward to staying a Galra his whole life.

“But now we know that there are still Alteans somewhere out there!” Alluras cheery voice cut in and she smiled brightly at Lance, who blushed a bit under her attention. “Yeah, I guess so.” he answered carefully, his concerned gaze flickering to Keith.

“Maybe you even can shift!” Allura continued and Keith had enough. Allura probably was right, Lance possibly could hide his form, just as any other Altean and Keith was forced to be stuck in a form everyone despised.

“I’m gonna sleep for a bit, still tired, I guess.” he told Hunk and Pidge, both of them exchanging a concerned glance before nodding. “I’ll get you for dinner, alright?” asked Hunk but he didn’t receive an answer, Keith already being gone, striding out of the room as fast as possible.

He felt like his whole world just collapsed. Everything he fought for and believed in just changed in a span of a few hours. His ears dropped again, laying flat against his head, clearly showing his distress. He didn’t want to think about anything anymore so he decided to hit the training room, already readying his bayard. He wouldn’t be able to sleep right now, so this was the only other thing he could think of. The others knew not to disturb him when he trained, so he hoped they left him alone for the time being.

He arrived at the huge training room, his bayard already being activated and glinting in the still harsh light of the castle. He took a deep breath and commanded: “Training sequence. Level six.” which was his highscore and none of the other paladins had reached it yet, Shiro being the best after him on level four.

A bot arrived and attacked immediately. Keith planned on doing a smooth dodge, but instead his head got hit by the bot’s staff, he completely forgot about his new height. He yelped and stumbled, a throbbing pain momentarily blinding him. Seconds later, the floor opened and he fell into the safety bay.

For a few seconds he laid there, stunned and still caught up in the battle. This had to be a joke! There was no way he actually got worse, having lost all his skill he trained so hard for. His still stinging head told him otherwise. He actually had to relearn how to fight, something he had done all his life.

Groaning he got up and returned to the training room, his signature scowl back on his face. He had to try again, but he would never set the level down on five. No matter how bruised he would become.

A few hours later he panted heavily, his thin fur sticky and sweaty. But he did it, managed to hold out for more than five minutes, which was a lot, considered he started out with ten seconds. His grip on his sword slipped, and he didn’t hit the bot properly, which caused him to stumble a bit. This again threw him out of his loop, not finding his balance fast enough. The next hit from the bot brought the battle to an end, hitting him in the back. Before he hit the floor, a voice interrupted the sequence.

“Training sequence. End.” Hunk called, a concerned edge to his voice and Keith took a deep breath. Of course, dinner. He had noticed the gnawing hunger in his stomach, but didn’t want to face the others. He just felt too alien.

“Keith, come on, you need a break. No, scratch that, it’s enough for today.” Hunk insisted and he slowly got up, flicking his hair out of his face. “I’m not hungry.” he lied softly but Hunks’ slightly scolding gaze made him shut up. He wouldn’t let him get away with skipping dinner.

“Okay. Fine. Let me just put something clean on.” Keith deactivated his bayard, he would shower after dinner and then just go to bed. He was tired and has had enough of this day.  
Hunk nodded but threatened with a playful voice: “If you’re not in the kitchen in fifteen minutes, I’m gonna drag you over there.” and Keith couldn’t help but smile softly. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

He hurried putting on a new tank top, not wanting to let his gaze linger on his new form for too long. He felt drained, the training took out a lot of him, but he was glad about it. This had given him some time for himself, to sort his own thoughts. He exited his room, walking towards the kitchen.

Voices greeted him, the paladins being engaged in discussions and conversations which dwindled as soon as he closed the door behind him.

So much about not being so bad. His ears dropped.

“Hey mullet-boy!” Lance greeted and pushed a full plate of green food goo into Keiths direction. “I even left some goo for you, but that’s just because I feel generous today.” he smiled. Something told Keith, Lance knew exactly how he felt and he moved slowly towards him. As soon as he took a seat, he dug in, the goo being no less slimy than usual, but still sating his hunger.

The silence still rang through the room.

“Okay guys.” Lance spoke up, causing Keith to interrupt his scraping with his spoon. “Come on, you are being really unfair.” he openly glared at Allura and Shiro, his arms crossing.

“No Lance, don’t-“ Keith tried to stop him from lashing out, but Lance being as stubborn as usual ignored him.

“Keith can’t change a thing about his genes. He’s a paladin, Red chose him. He’s part alien but that shouldn’t be a discussion in space. The same thing has happened to me, but you’re basically shunning him while I am some kind of a saint?” silence greeted Lance, after he paused to take a deep breath.

“He’s our teammate. He fought so many times next to us and defended the whole universe.” he clenched his fists. “Just because of something like genes or heritage you are being really ridiculous. He’s still the broody emo he always was and he’s fine the way he is, half Galra or not!” Lance practically shouted.

Keith knew he was fucking falling.

Allura stood up, her face not showing any emotions. “I need some time. Keith, I will talk to you tomorrow.” she said without looking at him. Then, she turned and left the room which was plunged into silence. Coran followed her with an apologetic glance at Keith.

“Keith. I am sorry.” Shiro met his eyes, regret clearly written all over his face. “You’re you and you are still basically my younger brother.” he stood up and walked towards him, his arms opening in a hug. Keith met him halfway, completing the embrace. It was a bit awkward, Keith actually being taller than Shiro now but it didn’t matter. One of his most important persons in his life accepted him again, and he fought against the tears, threatening to spill over.

“I know why you reacted this way, I’m sorry, Shiro.” Keith whispered, still hugging him. Shiro was tortured by the Galra, of course he got flashbacks seeing Keith looking like one of his tormentors.

“You don’t have anything to apologize for!” the black paladin took a step back, looking Keith dead in the eye. “You did nothing wrong. It’s us who reacted unreasonably.” his tone left no place for discussions and Keith nodded slightly. “I am going to talk to Allura.” he looked over to the other paladins observing the scene. They all nodded and Shiro left the room after one last smile thrown in Keiths direction.

“Well done, Lance.” Pidge snickered and Lance grinned, answering her high five.

Keith was falling so _so damn_ hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feeeels *squeals*  
> It's gonna get fluffier and fluffier, just like Keiths' hair!  
> I hope y'all liked the chapter and remember to tell me if you find mistakes, I'll correct them!


	4. Chapter 3

It got a bit easier after Lances’ outburst, Shiro and Coran started to treat Keith normally again, if not giving him a bit _too_ much attention because of how guilty they felt. Allura still hadn’t talked to Keith, always ignoring him and avoiding his gaze. He didn’t know how to feel about it, he never was super close to Allura but her rejection still stung. He had to give it time, these were Corans’ words, but Keith knew she needed a bit more than just time, to start trusting him again.   
  
As if this wasn’t enough of a problem, Keith began to feel strange around Lance. He seemed to seek his presence, he always felt like slowly relaxing around him, a ray of sunshine after a long monsoon. At the same time he got flustered when Lance talked to him, his heart fluttered and sped up. These feelings got a bit confusing, in his opinion, he didn’t need them, especially _not_ in space during a war against aliens.   
  
Still, they were there. They were stubborn and ever-present. They made it harder to stay around Lance but at the same time made him crave his presence.   
  
Keith groaned, slamming his book shut after he read the same sentence for the fifth time. Shiro raised a questioning eyebrow but Keith ignored him pointedly. He was clever, Shiro soon would know what was happening in Keiths’ brain, or rather, his heart. They sat in the lounge, occupating the sofas and reading. The others were in the kitchen, trying out a new recipe which was supposed to turn the slimy green food goo into a blue one.   
  
Hunk and Lance found it fascinating. Pidge had muttered something about “parental supervising” before following the boys into the kitchen, to which Shiro snorted.   
So Keith had some time for himself which he wasn’t sad about. What he hadn’t thought of was that his brain worked against him and just didn’t shut up. About Lance.   
  
He stood up, determined to distract himself. Training would help, for sure.   
  
He didn’t come far, before even leaving the room, Allura appeared and this time she didn’t avoid him. Instead, she stopped in front of him and didn’t flinch when she looked him in the eye.   
  
“I want to talk to you. Do you have some spare time for me? ”she asked and Keith could only nod dumbfounded and followed her to the observatorium, in which she took a seat on one of the bigger chairs. Keith crossed his arms, not wanting to sit down, he felt too nervous.   
  
“Keith.” Allura began and he stiffened. He didn’t look forward to the talk she had prepared. Honestly, he would have been fine if she just had started to treat him normally again, he didn’t need a drawn-out explanation as to why she had reacted this way. He knew, after all.   
  
“You surely do understand my reaction, right?” she asked and he nodded timidly, his ears twitching. Allura watched them for a few seconds before taking a deep breath, hands clasping together. “It was not okay of me to react in such a way. Yes, the Galra destroyed my home planet and all the people living on it and I won’t ever forgive them for this. ” her hands trembled. “ But you don’t have to do anything with it, nor your mother. It was ten thousand years ago, after all. ” she looked up at Keith again. “ So I am terribly sorry for how I treated you. I deeply hope you can forgive me and continue being a part of Voltron. ” she seemed truly devastated but a part of her sentence had struck Keith.   
  
“What do you mean, you hope I’ll stay here?” he asked, baffled. He always had been afraid of Allura taking consequences and throwing him out, refusing to work together with him as a paladin. Apparently, that had never been a discussion.   
  
Allura watched him closely. “Lance is right, you know? Red chose you, you are the red paladin, the right arm of Voltron. There is no way that I or we actually would throw you out. ” she exclaimed fiercely and Keith swallowed. Allura did have her heart at the right place after all.   
  
He smiled, relieved. “Of course I’ll stay. If you guys will have me. ”    
  
Allura stood up and hugged him, hard and long and Keith felt how a _huge_ , invisible weight fell off of his shoulders.   
  
Things were slowly getting better for him.   
  
“Thank you, Allura.” he murmured and she gave him a warm smile, her eyes finally not avoiding his own ones.   
  
“I assume you want to go to train?” she asked and he nodded. Now he needed it even more than before, he had something to think about.   
“Good, the others are in the kitchen.” she frowned. “I advise you to not disturb them, they seem to be really invested in whatever they are trying to do.” Keith mentally noted this information, he would avoid the kitchen for the next hours.   
  
They parted ways, Allura wanting to seek out Shiro for planning diplomatic talks and Keith finally was on the way to the training rooms. But he never reached them, Lance appeared before he could vanish behind the doors of the training hall and interrupted his train of thoughts.   
  
“Hey mullet! You wanna join me during my skin-care routine? ” his signature grin beamed from his lips and Keith actually needed a moment to collect himself.   
  
Taken aback he stopped and stared quizzically at Lance. Wasn't he supposed to tinker around in the kitchen?   
  
“You do know that I don’t rerally care abou-“ he started hesitantly but Lance waved his hand, dismissing.   
  
“Hush, everyone needs some self-care moments, so you are going to join me, no objections allowed.” he strode towards Keith, linking their arms together. “Plus, constant training can’t be healthy for you, a break is just the right thing you need.”   
  
Keith didn’t dare protest anymore and admitted defeat. He just had to deal with his now pounding heart and act normally around Lance.   
  
“So we are going to y-your room?” he asked, and he did _so not_ squeak.   
  
Mission acting normally: failed   
  
“Yeah of course, my supplies are in my bathroom, and I don’t wanna chill in your room which, I bet, is messy and stinky.” Lance didn’t seem to notice the weird pitch in Keiths’ voice and carried on walking to his room, which was just next to the red paladin ones.   
  
“It’s not” Keith mumbled but got distracted after the door opened with a soft hiss.   
  
Lances room was an exact mirror image of his own. The bed was on the opposite side, just like the bathroom and the little closet. And, he noted with a little satisfaction, his room wasn’t close to the mess Lances’ room actually was. Pieces of clothing laid on a pile in the corner, a plate of old food goo stood on the small table and there were many souvenirs from planets they visited over the last years strewed around all over his room.   
  
But it was also way more homely. He immediately felt at ease, something he never fully achieved with his own room, it was just too cold and empty. But he had nothing to collect, he had no more personal items than his few clothes and his knife. Lance even had a small picture of his family taped on te wall next to his bed, worn out and faded, but still a personal thing from back home.   
  
Keith swallowed the sudden lump forming in his throat. Now was not the time for sad feelings, he had to concentrate to actually keep his completely different feelings towards Lance in check.   
  
Lance, who was already rummaging around in the small bathroom, murmuring about different products and where he put them again, before appearing again, arms full of little bottles and tubes.   
  
Keith seriously started overthinking his decision to join him.   
  
“Come on, grumpy cat, it’s time for a space spa visit.” Lance ushered him towards the bed and Keith stiffly sat down, not exactly knowing what to do with his hands, so he began fiddling around with the edge of his glove.   
  
“I’m not grumpy.” protested Keith but Lance didn’t even acknowledge his complaint but instead, began listing off all the moisturizers and cremes he used and sorted them on the bed.   
  
“So you can use this one, your skin is actually not that dry, even without you having a routine.” he pushed a green bottle into Keiths’ hands.   
  
“After that, this one will be a good finish, we don’t wanna over-care your skin, it’s not used to it, after all” another bottle was given to him and Keith sighed. Seemed like there was no way out of this.   
  
Lance even already began applying a blue creme to his face, his hands moving in an expertized way, spreading out the blue mass. Keith took of his gloves and squirted some of the green stuff on his hands, still not entirely sure what exact effect the lotion was supposed to have but he figuted humoring Lance wouldn’t hurt.   
  
As he began putting it on his face, he cringed, the cold sensation being a bit strange.   
  
“It’s sticky.” he grumbled and Lance snorted.   
  
“It’s supposed to be.” came his answer and he nodded approvingly as he saw Keiths’ face decked in green, clashing with his new lavender skin tone.   
  
“You forgot a spot.” without missing a beat, he rubbed some excess stuff onto Keiths’ cheekbone and Keith startled, the touch being unexpected.   
  
“Very good, now we have to wait for about twenty minutes and then we can wash it off.” he flopped onto his back, stretching his arms out on the bed, mindful of the face mask.   
  
“And what are we supposed to do during that time?” Keith crossed his arms, still trying to get used to the stuff on his face. It began to dry.   
  
“Relax, Keith. It’s part of the skin-care. ” Lance propped himself up on hs elbows and watched him.   
  
“Just relaxing for once is really important and good for the body and the mind. At least it helps me, I always feel better and healthier after my routine, refreshed. ”he tilted his head and sighed.   
  
“Don’t tell me you actually never took some time for yourself.” he mumbled, not actually asking Keith but he still shrugged, his ears twitching.   
  
He never really felt the need to sit down and plaster his face with supposedly healthy stuff, so he never did.   
  
“Okay, consider this as your premiere.” Lance grinned. “And as a bonding-moment, one I actually will remember.” he added as an after thought and Keith couldn't help but smile. It really was a bonding moment.   
  
“Tell me about your family.” he blurted without really thinking about what he was saying, but after seeing the picture on the wall, curiosity began to become the better of him.   
  
Lance didn’t start to talk for a few seconds, seemingly trying to find words.   
  
“I don’t even know where to start.” he mumbled, clearly lost in memories and feelings. Keith almost regretted asking.   
  
“We are so many. I am the youngest, but it never mattered much. Some of us were louder, others were more mature, others again were rebellious but mother always knew how to handle each one of us. ” he smiled, his eyes glistening slightly.   
  
“Then there was her brother with his wife and three kids, her sister with her girlfiend and of course, our grandparents. Our house was always full and busy, we took care of each other, never leaving one behind. I remember the times we ate together in the evenings, it was always chaotic but it worked. ” he choked out a watery laugh.   
  
“This is kinda why I always have to listen to music, it’s just too silent here, I’m not used to it.” he admitted and swallowed. Keith almost reached out and hugged him, barely restraining himself. It just would be too weird.   
  
Lance straightened himself and met Keiths’ gaze.   
  
“What about you? What do you miss about your family? ” he asked ant Keith stiffened. Lance didn’t know?   
  
“Uh... I am an orphan. ”Keith began and the blue paladins’ eyes widened, but before he could say anything Keith continued.   
  
“So I sort of don’t have a family, Shiro’s the only one I ever considered as something close to a brother. But I still miss things from earth, I guess. ”he paused, thinking about the vastness and heath of the desert he lived in for one year.   
  
“It sounds absurd, but I miss the stars. I mean we are in space, but none of these constellations are familiar. I often watched the sky during the night and counted the constellations and shooting stars. ” it seemed like Keith finally spilled out all the things he bottled up during the last months, even years.   
  
“I miss the heath, space is so cold and empty. I miss the sun, the different scents, my hover-bike, the background noise of my old radio back in my cabin. ” Keith took a deep breath, feeling like he loaded off a weight off his heart.   
  
“Wow, okay so- um” Lance seemed at a loss for words. Silence hung between them for a few seconds until the altean male seemed to straighten a bit.   
  
“Need a hug?” he asked, more timidly than Keith was used to from him. Without really thinking about it he nodded and already began moving towards Lance, who also adjusted into a sitting position.   
  
Keith was sure Lance didn’t just ask because he solely wanted to comfort the red paladin. He needed some comfort for himself. And Keith was more than glad to give it.   
  
They met in a slightly awkward hug, which got better after both of them relaxed a bit. Then, Lance sniffed and Keiths’ hand began carding trough Lances’ brown locks of hair. After some more seconds, it was clear to Keith, that he never ever wanted to let go of Lance again. He hadn’t known he needed this.   
  
He hoped nothing of his green face mask got smeared on Lances’ shirt.   
  
He also hoped Lance didn’t hear his _violently_ pounding heart.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me a longer thime than I expected but I'm realy happy with it. I mean: feels. Bonding-moments. Hugs.   
> I hope you liked it and remember to tell me if there are catastrophal grammar errors or spelling mistakes!


	5. Chapter 4

Lance yawned and stretched, the bones in his back giving way with a satisfying pop.

"Ew." Keith shuddered and Lance poked out his tounge at him.

"We should wash off the stuff. It's been on our faces long enough. Maybe it actually made your skin soft and it isn't the dry-ass mess as before."Lance teased and stood up, still stretching his muscles.

"It isn't that dry. You even said it yourself before." Keith argued, the mood between them reverting to the usual playfulness.

He could work with that. This was familiar. He knew how to handle this. Unlikely the new, blossoming feelings which threatened to overflow. He had to try and keep them from Lance.

For now it worked. But he wasn't sure he could go on for much longer.

He pushed the thoughts aside as Lance nudged him, implying Keith should follow him.

He got up and trailed after him, ending up in front of the mirror in the small bath adjoining Lances' room. A glance in it told Keith that the green face mask clashed even more with his new skin tone than he initially thought.

He was glad about finally getting this stuff off.

Keith ducked to the sink, splashing some water onto his face and thoroughly scrubbing down the sticky mass.He got up again and froze as he saw the picture presenting itself in the mirror.

Of _course._ Just fucking _fantastic_.

He looked like a drenched cat, fur sticking to his skin, darkened by the water to a deep violet instead of the soft lavender he was slowly getting used to.

But this wasn't even the worst part.

The face mask stuck to the fine hairs. Like stray bubblegum.

"Lance." he forced through clenched teeth, sounding snappier than he intended to.

"Hm?" came the answer, muffled by the water and his hands, still rubbing the mask off his face, before he straightened and met Keiths' gaze with eyebrows raised questioningly.

Silence stretched between the boys.

Then Lance lost it.

Gasping laughter filled the small room, revibrating off the tiled walls.

"Oh my go- Keiiith. How-" Lance couldn't even speak coherently, tears forming in his eyes and trying to grasp the edge of the sink, preventing a total break-down.

"Lance." Keith hissed again but a smile creeped on his lips as well. Not because of his misfortune, but more because of the bundle of joy in front of him.Then he chuckled, Lances' laughter being infectious and he shook his head.

What a dork. _His_ dork.

He inhaled sharply. He had to tune it the fuck down. It really threatened to overtake every aspect of his thoughts.

It already had, Keith realized.

"Wow. Keith. Whew." Lance caught his breath, still wiping away some tears, his cheeks flushed.

"I am sorry, but this is just so funny." he giggled again, a sweet sound which drove a hot feeling down Keiths' stomach.

"I mean, a Galra, getting a green face goo mask stuck in his fur." he howled with laughter again, slamming down his hand on the sink repeatedly.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." Keith rolled his eyes, smiling, no malice in his words.

"It's pretty funny, I admit." he added and Lance grinned openly.

"Let's try to get it off, you can't fight mean Galras with this face." a last small giggle escaped his mouth but then he put his hands on each one of Keiths' cheeks. Then he began tugging softly at some hairs, loosening a bit of the stuff. Keith had to admit, this did not feel as bad as he dreaded.

More like way better than he could handle.

"Ow." he instinctively complained, trying to escape Lances' warm hands but Lance just followed his movement, not even being fazed.

Okay. He could work with that.

Lances hands wandered further over his face, one tugging at the strands, the other one cradling his cheek in it. He was unaware of what the resting, slightly curled fingers did to Keith.

They rested exactly at the base of his new, still sensitive and unknown ears. And they slowly became a problem for Keith.

Then it happened.

A soft, hesitant purr vibrated through his throat, and Keith jerked his eyes open, not even having been aware of him closing them.

They stared in each others eyes, Keiths' ears twitching, the sound still going on.

Keith desperately tried to smother it, but it seemed like it was an involuntary reaction to the physical contact Lance provided.

How was this even possible? Keith wanted to bury himself deep in his bed, disappearing for years.

Why did he have to become an alien, but instead of being the typical Galra, he seemed more like an overgrown space cat.

"Aw." Lance cooed and Keith blushed, the purr getting louder.

No, _stop_ it.

Instead of making fun of him as Keith would have expected, Lance continued to work out the face mask off Keiths' fur. Keith, still blushing furiously, couldn't help but trace Lances' features. His gaze showed his concentration on the task, eyes trailing over Keiths' own face. He continued to stare at Lance, uncaring of what he may think about him. The still new, blue triangles under his eyes were a stark contrast to his brown skin but brought out the deep ocean blue in his eyes even more.

He was stunning.

Lance hummed, and took a step back, scanning Keith's face for left-over rests of the cream but seemed satisfied.

"There you go. Still, I am sure that it actually helped, your skin feels super soft!" he exclaimed and Keith huffed. He wasn't that annoyed about the mishap, Lance was right after all, it was pretty funny.

"Maybe it's Galra skin." he joked. "I mean, everything about me changed so it really could be." Keith mused.

"Nah, I don't think so. Plus not everything's changed. You still have your stupid mullet." he answered fondly, no actual insult behind his words, tugging at some strands of Keith's hair.

"So, onward to the finishing cream -" Lance carried on, already excited to move on to the next step but Keith waved his hands defensively, trying to find a way to dodge Lances' stubbornness.

He hadn't to, Keith got saved by the shrill alarm which rang through the castle at once.

Both paladins flinched, staring at each other with huge eyes. Seconds later they scrambled to their rooms, slipping in their armors and readying their bayards.

During the whole ordeal, Keith couldn't help but being a bit disappointed that his quality time with Lance got interrupted. He slipped into his red armor, it molded perfectly to his different form, fitting like a second skin.

"Huh, neat." Keith mused, impressed but not really surprised.

"Paladins, we'll meet in the hangars. Hurry up" Alluras voice sounded trough the still blaring alarm and Keith frowned. Usually, they directly went to their lions, venturing into the battle immediately. Not this time, so it seemed.

"Come on, mullet!" Lance raced past him, shouting his typical insult and Keith rolled his eyes.

"You love my hair!" he shouted back, also starting to hurry to the hangars. He was sure the others were already there, waiting for him and Lance.

And there would be no way, Lance would arrive before him.

He chased after him, soon he caught up and went to move past him, his new height being an advantage.

"No way!" Lance gasped, pushing himself to his limits. They arrived in the hangars, breathing hard and shouting about who actually had won.

"Um." they got interrupted by a confused sounding Hunk. Pidge, like the little gremlin they were, snickered into their hands next to him.

"Tell me, you saw how I arrived at first!" Lance shouted still gasping from the sprint they both accomplished.

"Not really. Keith was first." Pidge grinned and Lance pouted, arms crossed.

"And you plan on fighting like this." Allura scolded, brows furrowed.

"Hah." the blue paladin puffed out his chest. "This was just a warm up, princess." he grinned and Keith snorted, but nodded quickly.

He wasn't innocent after all.

Allura sighed. "Moving on, I called you in here because we have to discuss the fact that the Galra are attacking just one day after their last attack." she changed to more pressing matters.

"This is not their usual strategy. They seem to have some kind of a plan." she concluded, slightly distressed. The other paladins had to agree it was not the behaviour they were used to.

"Maybe they just have left-over energy and want to burn it?" Lance suggested but Shiro shook his head.

"No, they do have something else planned..." he trailed off, thinking about the motives of the Galra.

"Guys I think I got it." Pidge was pale, but determined. Everyone stiffened, anxious of what they had to say.

"So okay, yesterday. Keith got hit with this blast. They disappeared immediately after, we never got attacked directly." they took a deep breath.

"Keith was the only target after all. They knew he was half Galra. They wanted to change him." Pidge paused, awaiting the reactions of their teammates.

"Lances' change wasn't planned, he jumped into the blast next to Keith. I think their plan was to break up the team, to bring us to distrust each other."

"This is actually plausible." Shiro swallowed, visibly distraught.

"It almost worked." Allura whispered, her eyes glistened suspiciously. She obviously felt bad about her reaction towards Keith after the reveal.

"But it didn't." Lance cut in, his voice steady. "We are still a team, still the defenders of the universe. We still trust Keith. And they don't know it yet. So we should use that to our advantage."

The paladins nodded, new hope building up in their chests.

"Let's surprise them!" Shiro exclaimed and they all took off to their lions awaiting them.

A thrill of adrenaline surged trough Keith's body, his heart hammering in his chest, already excited and anxious of the upcoming battle.

Before he could enter his lion, someone caught him around his hip and whirled him around.

Soft lips met his cheek before Lance threw a saucy grin in his direction and disappeared in his blue lion.

This fucker. Keith's face blazed, competing against the red of his own lion.

He ignored Shiro's amused glance and climbed up the entrance of Red.

He had a battle to win. He had to come back to a certain blue paladin and had to take back the kiss he had so cheekily stolen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, the next chapter is done! There's only a couple left but the next one will be a bit angstier than the ones before *evil snickering* I hope you all like it and remember to tell me about mistakes!


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